My mother's dog, Khufu is a 4 year old purebred maltese. He's always been a very good dog, alerting us to newcomers, yapping happily when we come home and he doesn't mind being in a houseful of cats. The past year, he's been keeping company with an olders the majority of the time (the dog is my mother's boyfriend's dog). Let's just say we've essentially lost Khufu to a new playmate. They get along great, they play together and the older dog, BJ, has actually perked up since Khufu's entered his life. But Khufu has started displaying less than ideal behaviour and now when he greets people at the door when they visit, if he doesn't like them, he bites them as hard as he can. He doesn't do it to everyone, so we're not sure what's causing this behaviour. Would anyone be able to give me some help? Thanks.

Can you clarify 'if he doesn't like them'? Does this tend to be women or men, or both? Does he draw blood or is it a quick nip? Do they have to touch him first, or not at all?

Well, we assume he doesn't like them... He doesn't have a pattern as to who he decides to bite, and who he doesn't bite. He's greeted many people, sometimes he's just a happy little dog and the next time he greets the same person, he could bite them.

As far as I know, he bites people very hard, almost drawing blood, unless the person can get away from him in time for it to be a quick nip...

They can't get close enough to him to touch him before he'll attack or just want to be petted... He's quite a bundle of energy...

Well, we assume he doesn't like them... He doesn't have a pattern as to who he decides to bite, and who he doesn't bite. He's greeted many people, sometimes he's just a happy little dog and the next time he greets the same person, he could bite them.

As far as I know, he bites people very hard, almost drawing blood, unless the person can get away from him in time for it to be a quick nip...

They can't get close enough to him to touch him before he'll attack or just want to be petted... He's quite a bundle of energy...

Do they have to bend down to touch them, or is he jumping up at their hands or biting their legs? He's a small breed dog, so I'm just trying to get more clues as to what is happening here. Does he only display this behavior to visitors, or has he started doing this to you and your family when they come in the door as well?

Sometimes when another dog is introduced, it can cause the first dog to act out in various ways, and it sounds like Khufu has began to test his dominance with 'pack heiarchy' when your guests arrive.

Regardless of the reasons, obviously this cannot be allowed to continue. If you know that someone is coming to the home, put Khufu on a leash and keep him with you until he's calmed down. If he normally jumps up to say hello to someone, this too should be stopped as it can lead to many different other issues.

__________________
~B~
"If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater. . . suggest that he wear a tail."

It would appear that the behaviour changed since the introduction of the new dog. Would that be a fair assumption?

My first question pertains to the new dog. How does he greet people at the door? Is it possible that your dog is being 'influenced' by the other dogs reaction?

One thing I wish to ask about your dog BEFORE the new one: your dog would advise when someone at the door. How did he do that? Did he ever lunge at people before? When on leash, does he have the same behaviour with and/or without walking the new one?

When he lunges and/or bites, how do you attempt to correct his behaviour? How does he react to correction? If corrected in front of the other dog, how does that dog react?

Do they have to bend down to touch them, or is he jumping up at their hands or biting their legs? He's a small breed dog, so I'm just trying to get more clues as to what is happening here. Does he only display this behavior to visitors, or has he started doing this to you and your family when they come in the door as well?

Sometimes when another dog is introduced, it can cause the first dog to act out in various ways, and it sounds like Khufu has began to test his dominance with 'pack heiarchy' when your guests arrive.

Regardless of the reasons, obviously this cannot be allowed to continue. If you know that someone is coming to the home, put Khufu on a leash and keep him with you until he's calmed down. If he normally jumps up to say hello to someone, this too should be stopped as it can lead to many different other issues.

He usually jumps up on them, and if they bend down, that's when he bites. I've never seen it myself, my mother asked me to post this on her behalf. Here's a quick history: My mother adopted him in 2005 when he was just a young'un. He lived with her and her two cats, Luna and Cleo for about 3 years. My mother met a new man who has BJ, the older dog mentioned, and they introduced them to each other, with no adverse effects. Khufu spends most of his time now at BJ's house, instead of his own, so my guess is he's having territorial issues as well as pack hierarchy issues. BJ doesn't seem to have changed his behaviour at all, but Khufu has, with the biting and jumping up on people. It doesn't help that the training that my mother instilled in him in her 3 years alone with him has been hampered by BJ's mother (my mother's boyfriend's mother). She lets him jump up on everyone, she lets him bark all the time without telling him to stop, so that may have caused this to happen as well. I'll pass on the information about leashing him when people come to the house.

If you have any further insight, I'm more than willing to pass it on. Thanks.

He usually jumps up on them, and if they bend down, that's when he bites. I've never seen it myself, my mother asked me to post this on her behalf. Here's a quick history: My mother adopted him in 2005 when he was just a young'un. He lived with her and her two cats, Luna and Cleo for about 3 years. My mother met a new man who has BJ, the older dog mentioned, and they introduced them to each other, with no adverse effects. Khufu spends most of his time now at BJ's house, instead of his own, so my guess is he's having territorial issues as well as pack hierarchy issues. BJ doesn't seem to have changed his behaviour at all, but Khufu has, with the biting and jumping up on people. It doesn't help that the training that my mother instilled in him in her 3 years alone with him has been hampered by BJ's mother (my mother's boyfriend's mother). She lets him jump up on everyone, she lets him bark all the time without telling him to stop, so that may have caused this to happen as well. I'll pass on the information about leashing him when people come to the house.

If you have any further insight, I'm more than willing to pass it on. Thanks.

Definitely sounds like a lack of direction, combined with the new dog. Just the fact that there is another dog around can make Khufu feel the need to act out, especially towards strangers coming into his territory. Dogs who lack proper direction for socalization will 'figure it out' for themselves when they are stressed, or insecure (which can result for a variety of reasons: new handlers, new environment, new family members, new pets, etc.)

I highly reccomend the leashing when strangers come to the home, but your Mom is going to need to take the lead and change the way she handles her dog in all areas of life. Khufu sounds as though he's had the run of the place, and there may be other dominance issues he has in regards to people that can be seen but are subtle and as such are hard to miss if you don't know what to watch for.

__________________
~B~
"If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater. . . suggest that he wear a tail."